I’ve gone on before about economic impact studies on the arts and their hazy logic (but astounding power among legislators). Now, two researchers in Toronto are attempting a different tack in assessing the civic impact of arts and cultural activity.
Instead of taking the macro view of a city or community and its arts-related activity, they are focusing in to a much smaller radius (500 meters around three specific arts facilities). By zooming in, they hope to discover the micro-developments that rise and fall around arts centers:
What did they find? Among their tiny sample, property values, renovations, and retail sales generally went up over their control group. Residents largely saw the arts facilities as agents of positive change, but complained about traffic. And a few odd variations seemed worthy of further exploration (in one area, major crimes fell, but auto and minor thefts increased).
W.E. Deming once said that “All models are wrong. Some models are useful.” And while this version of the economic impact study certainly has its flaws, it does seem to suggest a more interesting and actionable perspective of arts facilities in an urban setting (especially to zoning boards).